You are here

United States-United Kingdom Collaboration on Fossil Energy R&D

The United States and the United Kingdom are participating in a multi-year collaboration on advanced materials supported by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The collaboration is an outgrowth of the US-UK Memorandum of Understanding and the associated Implementing Arrangement for Fossil Energy Research and Technology Development.

The MOU, signed on November 6, 2000, provides a framework to continue, expand, and maximize cooperation in energy research and development between the two nations.

The Implementing Arrangement, signed on March 10, 2003, reflects the two nations' interest in the joint planning and exchange of information and personnel in the field of cleaner coal technology, and for exploring opportunities for expanded fossil energy utilization.

Objectives

The key objective of the UK-US collaboration is to share and develop the partners' knowledge and expertise in the key area of high-temperature materials for advanced fossil energy power plant applications.

This is achieved through such mechanisms as: sharing of test facilities and best practices, development of common tools and methods, and industrial secondments. The opportunity to develop long-term cooperation in advanced materials from the experience gained during project collaborations is also recognized.

More specific technical objectives related to:

Optimized test methods, data analysis and storage;

Development of life time prediction tools;

Materials evaluation techniques and ranking methodologies; and

Joining and thermomechanical processing.

The objectives are accomplished through five technical tasks, approved under the Implementing Arrangement, covering: